We Are Not Free

Frankie, 19. January-February 1943.

The army arrives at Topaz to recruit men for “Roosevelt’s new combat team” (100). Frankie had wanted to join the army when Pearl Harbor was first attacked, to fight for his country like his father did before him, but he wasn’t allowed. Now he only dreams of escaping the camp, but he doesn’t want to leave his friends. That night, he hears a rumor that the government wants everyone in the camp who is 17 or older to fill out a loyalty questionnaire. Frankie isn’t impressed, but Twitchy and Mas say they’re going to do it because they want to join the army and prove that they can fight just as well as the keto.

Frankie attends a meeting explaining the questionnaire and the enlisting process. He leaves angrier and starts a fight with some people singing patriotic songs outside. Mas comes and breaks the fight up. His uncle warns him that if he remains in the camp, he will get “into trouble not even your friends will be able to get you out of” (108). Frankie attends another meeting during which Mas gives a speech about fighting for democracy, but as Frankie listens, he hears the contradiction in the words: The U.